HALI: Every Day, an Attitude of Gratitude

There is something about when the leaves start to change and the holidays are nearing that make you want to be a little more generous. You may hold the door for a stranger, stop to help lost tourists with their map, or give a couple of dollars to the Santa Claus ringing his bell outside Macy’s.

Although it is nice to get in the spirit and perform these cheery gestures around the holidays, we need to remember there is so much to be thankful for every day — not just while stuffing our faces with turkey and mashed potatoes. There are many charities in the area that make it easy to give back to our community all year round. Here are some easy and fun ways to practice your philanthropy 365 days a year.

If there is one thing Jets fans are, it's prideful — prideful of your team and prideful of your communities! Whether you come from NYC, New Jersey or Long Island, we all can agree that summers spent on the New Jersey and Long Island beaches are a cherished sentiment.

We are fortunate enough to have beautiful beaches, but with industrial areas so close by, it can be hard to keep our beaches clean and thriving. Clean Ocean Action is an amazing organization that is dedicated to improving the degraded water quality of the marine waters off the New Jersey/New York coast. You can get involved with COA by participating in one of their Beach Sweeps.

Beach Sweeps are held every spring and fall in multiple counties across New Jersey. Hundreds of volunteers get together and venture out to the beach to pick up trash and debris. Information about registering for a beach sweep near you can be found at cleanoceanaction.org.

It is no secret that hunger is an issue in the New York City area. In densely populated communities, it is especially important to stand together in the fight against hunger. Giving food to a local food bank could change a life and is as easy as dropping food off on your way to work. There are hundreds of dropoff locations all over the New York/New Jersey area and it is as simple as finding one that fits in your daily routine. To find a food bank near you, go to foodbanknyc.org.

Whether it’s Thanksgiving, Christmas, in time of tragedy or in time of prosperity, it is important to give back and always display an attitude of gratitude. Picking up that piece of litter you dropped or helping someone carry a suitcase up the subway stairs can start a chain reaction of positive action to improve our communities. There are endless opportunities to help each day, through charity or through random acts of kindness, and they can be employed 365 days year!

—Hali

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